Chester County businessman Steve Welch, who briefly ran for Congress in 2010 until incumbent U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach decided he wasn't giving up his seat to run for governor, made his run for the U.S. Senate official Wednesday morning.

Welch, who hinted at a run for weeks and teased his announcement on Facebook Tuesday with "exciting news coming in the next 24 hours!" joins a crowded GOP primary field who are all relative political novices with little to no name recognition across the state.

To make his announcement, Welch put out a campaign video (see below) explaining his decision to run, saying the American tradition of hard work and responsibility is "seriously threatened."

"Why am I running? It's really quite simple," Welch says. "I don't trust Casey and his pals in Washington to protect the American dream for my children or yours."

But most notably, Welch takes on his greatest Achilles heel: once being a Democrat. In 2006, he supported Democrat Joe Sestak. (In politics, it's always smart to attack your weakness before someone else does).

"And while I've always been a limited-government conservative, I haven't always been a Republican," he says in the video. "A few years ago, like a lot of people, when I saw the Republicans in Washington breaking their promises to get spending under control, I was so upset I switched parties. But that was nothing compared to the outrage of Barack Obama, Bob Casey and the Democrats in Congress, when they forced on us their failed stimulus package, their outrageous taxpayer-funded corporate bailouts, unprecedented debts, government-run health care, and massive job-killing regulations."

He then says he returned to his roots and helped campaign for Republicans Tom Corbett and Pat Toomey in 2010.